Why some Japanese people are renting cars — but not driving them

New trend sees car-sharing customers use vehicles for all sorts of things besides transit

General Motors’ new car-sharing service, Maven, will provide customers access to highly personalized, on-demand mobility services. A reported pilot program could extend that service to include vehicles owned by customers.

At first it was confusing.

Orix Auto Corp, a car-sharing company in Japan with around 230,000 registered users, discovered a portion of its rented vehicles had “traveled no distance,” meaning those who’d paid to use them hadn’t actually driven anywhere.

As it happens, Orix wasn’t the only company to have noticed the trend, reports Japanese national newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

A leading provider in the car-sharing space called Times24 Co. (1.2 million users) also noted a lack of miles being added in some instances.

So it did a survey of its customers and found some interesting answers to the question ‘What were you doing in that rental car if not driving?’

One person said they’d used the cars to store bags and other items when local coin-operated lockers weren’t available. Another said they’d paid for cars to nap or work in.

“Usually the only place I can take a nap while visiting my clients is a cybercafe in front of the station, but renting a car to sleep in is just a few hundred yen (a few dollars), almost the same as staying in the cybercafe,” said one survey respondent.

Following the earthquake that devastated parts of Japan in 2011, some cars were used as charging points for cell phones.

Another survey responder just wanted a place to eat.

”I rented a car to eat a boxed meal that I bought at a convenience store because I couldn’t find anywhere else to have lunch,” said the 31-year-old man who definitely also needs a hug.

With car-sharing rental prices starting under $5 for thirty minutes of use, and bookings made instantly through apps, it’s easy to see how we got here.

Makes one wonder: is this happening in Canada’s cities, too? If you’ve used car-sharing for something other than driving, we want to hear about it in the comments.